Weak consumer sentiment causes COEs to end mostly lower

[SINGAPORE] Certificates of entitlement (COE) ended mostly lower in the latest tender Wednesday (Dec 5) as demand remained lukewarm in the face of weak consumer sentiment.

COE for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp finished at the year's low of $23,568, down from $25,000 two weeks ago. COE for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp closed at $31,001, slightly down from $31,101 previously.

Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles but ends up mostly for cars, finished at $30,851 - also down slightly from $30,959 previously.

Commercial vehicle COE ended at $27,009, down from $27,500. Motorcycle premium bucked the trend to end at $3,399, up from $2,989 two weeks ago.

Motor dealers reckon demand will stay subdued, at least until the Singapore Motorshow in January, which usually whips up demand with a slew of new model launches.

THE STRAITS TIMES